Syria

The flurry of diplomatic activity and the leadership’s announcement of an extended timeline for holding elections signal a prolonged, difficult transition for Syria, with complex internal jousting for power also shaped by external influence.

Gulf states met the Syrian regime’s fall with unity and pragmatism. But already differences are emerging in response to the political transition and the possibility of chaos, extremism, and a feeble state unable to preserve its territorial integrity.

A Turkish-led proxy force in Syria has begun an offensive targeting the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane, an action that Kurdish leaders warn will lead to ethnic cleansing and could derail the fight against ISIS in northeast Syria.

The map of Syria has undergone a shocking revision, and domestic instability and retribution, with broader regional fallout, remain possible, even as diplomats engage and hope for the best.

The Kurdish Syrian opposition group, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) has become the de facto primary ground forces ally of the United States in Syria and is poised to play a leading role in any assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) capital. This creates a series of difficult problems...

Jeffrey Goldberg’s new article in The Atlantic comes close to realising the familiar cliché about journalism being a “first draft of history”. In this mammoth undertaking, titled The Obama Doctrine and running to 20,000 words, Goldberg details how America’s president views his foreign policy legacy.

A week after the United States and Russia reached a landmark ceasefire agreement over the Syrian conflict, now into entering its sixth year, the fragile truce appeared to be holding despite initial reports that the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies had stepped up airstrikes targeting various positions throughout the northern province of...